cross-cutting management for better performance: …

International Journal of Economics, Business and Management Research

Vol. 5, No.03; 2021

ISSN: 2456-7760

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CROSS-CUTTING MANAGEMENT FOR BETTER PERFORMANCE:

WHAT ARE CHALLENGES FOR TRANSFORMATIONAL

MANAGEMENT OF MANAGERIAL PRACTICES IN MOROCCO?

Dr. Soumaya DLIMI

Research Professor, Faculty of Economic and Social Legal Sciences, GECIAS Laboratory,

Hassan II University, Casablanca, MOROCCO

Abstract

Between turbulence and crises, several companies face situations of loss of reference and

meaning (Koninckx, 2010). The solution for many researchers is the use of transversal

management to be able to bounce back and maintain the sustainability of the organization in a

market characterized by strong competitiveness.

The loyalty of the players and the development of their spirit of belonging through good

governance and participatory and adaptive leadership will be the best current response to the

needs of Moroccan companies in terms of seeking the performance of the team.

Our article aims through a literature review a semi-directional interview and a questionnaire

distributed at the level of 100 companies to give a concrete answer as to the practices of cross-

approaches leading to the maintenance of team performance.

Keywords: Cross-cutting management, adaptive leadership, good governance, team

performance

Introduction:

Currently, the pyramid structure is less and less favored by companies. In fact, organizational

structures seek the evolution of hierarchical power in relation to the management line.

The real challenge then becomes getting the employees to join when it comes to cross-cutting

management. Without hierarchical authority, the need is on the ability to convince to move

membership beyond authority.

As part of any competitive strategy, the role and interests of the employees must aim towards

common objectives for the good of the company. There are often visible disparities between

personal objectives and common objectives, especially when there is apparent partitioning within

the same enterprise. From the image of the holder of power, or the absolute leader to whom all

employees are devoted, a new vision of management comes in contrast to it, namely: cross

management. The latter is not well-known but is slowly emerging as a new type of management

that meets the expectations of a changing company.

Since individuals cannot be assimilated or treated like robots, and hierarchical managers are

aware today that it is difficult for employees to leave their feeling and desires at the door of the

company, the challenge then is to succeed in motivating this employee to maintain his

performance.

The intelligent manager will be able to follow the strategy of a cross-cutting management to

succeed in mobilizing this part of subjectivity present in any individual, in order to obtain his

involvement of its team members and on the issue of recognition and compensation.


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www.ijebmr.com 1

The confrontation of employees with the fact that promotion becomes less-since there is less

hierarchical level- and that expertise no longer has value in itself because it is judged on the basis

of the contribution, will lead them to one conclusion: the evaluation is done through the result

obtained, and this may in a sense motivate them to aim for performance.

This research topic is part of managerial and organizational problem that is directly linked to the

importance of creating a spirit of belonging and loyalty among employees and collaborators in

the Moroccan enterprise, and especially the Casablancaise enterprise. If the manager has the

tools of cross-cutting management, he will be able to better understand his teams to better

manage them. The aim is to maintain their performance. We are then looking for sustainable

performance!

The obvious question before us is: “How can cross-cutting management be a lever for the growth

of the company, and lead to the maintenance of the maintenance of team performance?”

It will be wise to first discover how cross-cutting management can be lever for growth for the

company. We will begin by studying the terminology plurality of the concept and lead us directly

to the discovery of new approaches applied in the company.

In addition, it will be useful to analyze the role of cross-cutting management in maintaining teal

performance. We will present the results of our survey and a number of recommendations to try

to inform any manager about the key to maintaining the performance of his teams.

1. Cross-cutting management: business growth lever:

1.1Terminological pluralism:

Moroccan companies are now trying to renovate their management style for better performance.

It is useful to be on board to detect the multiple terminology of this new concept that appeared in

Morocco. It is no longer disputing that several Moroccan SMEs are the archetype of the

bureaucratic organization. Here we can think of the birth of bureaucracy with Smith, who

advocates the division of labor, or with another iconic figure like Max Weber who conceives the

theory of bureaucratic organization, or Taylor who encourages the rationalization of production.

Often stiffness is excessive, labor alienation is a reality, and performance is too low, hence the

need for reform to perform better. Therefore, several SMEs are starting to build a new

management model, namely” cross-management”. This is not a utopia, but a new strategy

implemented gradually by Moroccan managers.

To try to understand or situate this concept of transversal, which remains particular and

ambiguous, it is worth noting that it is a new element that “crosses” what already exists. For

Laurent Ménégoz (2004) “transversal carries the utopia of ideal coordination” (for him it is a

new way of seeing organizations).

For Mintzberg, he defined it as: “the structure of an organization can be defined simply as the

total sum of the means used to divide the work into separate tasks and then to ensure the

necessary coordination between those tasks. Transverse organization is more concerned with

movement, reactivity and results. And as Laurent Ménégoz (2003) states “the operation will be

more futuristic, because it will focus on coordination” and therefore the transverse organization

comes to oppose the vision of Mintzberg.


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In this way, cross-cutting will lead to a new era in which priorities are reversed. This new vision

of bureaucratic organization requires us to reflect on the right organization that reains for the

manager. The organizational chart is in response to this concern to “organize well”! In fact,

structuring, stabilizing functions and, above all, delegating and distributing tasks according to

skills, levels of study and age remain necessary. Within this framework, without flexibility and

adaptation, the organization will be perceived by many as an obstacle as complexity becomes

more and more complex.

The idea in fact is that the company is removing trades, removing a hierarchical level and

moving some people from its staff to new trades. The main concern here is that the staff is losing

their credentials. The priority is left much more for the coordination symbolized by the cross

management. The objective is to obtain an organization in a problematic form much closer to a

“process” which is a dynamic structure presented as a “flow”, as stated by Philippe

Lorino”(1997)who emphasizes: “The flow is like the set of activities connected between them by

flows of information or material that are significant and that combine to provide an important

and well-defined material or intangible product”.

Also, to better discover this cluster, we refer to Jacques Lemonnier (2014)who states in his

book”the cross-cutting manager” that the cross-cutting management is exercised horizontally and

not vertically, which implies that it is not a priori based on a hierarchical link, and that it is

generally “trans-trades, trans-departments, trans-poles” and therefore cross–cultures. In fact,

according to the author, the absence of a basic culture related to the profession leads to

misunderstandings that can go as far as rejection. In the same vein, Jacques Lemonnier argues

that “we must create a “cross-cultural” culture that goes beyond and encompasses the cultures of

trades or markets.

Thus, cross-cutting management refers to project management but also covers constant and

recurring activities, which include functional activities (such as HRM, accounting, finance,

communication, etc).

We can point out on the basis of Vincent Disecca’s vision (2013) that it is possible to speak of

cross-cutting management when there is no hierarchical link between the person managing and

those he manages. The transversal, according to the author at the time, often involves peoples of

different services, which is a factor of complexity”.

If we wish to transpose to the Moroccan context, the reflections of Moroccan managers today are

part of a new managerial and organizational logic in direct connection with the importance of

creating a spirit of belonging and loyalty among employees and collaborators. The Moroccan

manager is beginning to be aware of the importance of having the tools of a cross-cutting

management, to better understand his teams and finally to better manage them. The aim is to be

integrated in research and performance.

Géraldine Michel (2013) points out through his research on the issue that cross-cutting

management is an answer for better team performance. If you wonder why? The answer is

straightforward and clearly compelling as the need for efficiency, outcome and cost-effectiveness

has increased. To meet these needs, companies have developed increasingly sophisticated

management tools, we will choose to group together the elements most relevant to our sense that

define the role and interest of this type of management for the manager and for the company in

the table below:


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Figure 1: Role and interest of cross-cutting management

.

Adapted by Géraldine Michel, Transversal management of the brand(2013)

The advantages of cross-management for a team are based on the 7”C”. The manager takes care

of the following seven actions: research and deployment of “skills”, research of “clients”,

“communication”, “cooperation”, “coordination”, “connection”, and “trust”. It can thus

overcome inter-service barriers, develop organizational agility, promote responsiveness, and

ultimately mobilize dispersed resources. As Koninckx (2010) states, the solution for several

researchers is the use of cross-cutting management to be able to bounce back and maintain the

sustainability of the organization in a market in the sign of high competitiveness.

1.2 New approach to business:

In his book, Jacques Lemonnier presents several company structures and advises to adapt his

management according to the type of organizational structure. We will present some principles to

The cross-

manager

1. Position yourself in

its role:

-Position

-Build its legitimacy

-Share responsibilities

with hierarchies

8. The remote cross-section manager:

-Coordinate/

- Use collaborative tools/ -Conduct a remote meeting

7 Manage sensitive

situations:

-Accompany changes -Crop

-Process objection

6 Adapt its communication to its

interlocutors:

-The different channels of

communication

5. Manager his interlocutors out of

hierarchy:

-Adopt a coach position

-Listen-Help

3. Influence without a

hierarchical link:

-Convincing without imposing

-Negotiate

-Obtain counterparties

2. Choose your action

strategy:

-Identify stakeholders

-Moving actors

-Animate your network

4. To foster sustainable cooperation:

-The conditions for success

-The cooperative attitude

-Trust


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fail in cross-management, in order to explain how with some seemingly simple errors, the cross-

management strategy can be doomed to total failure:

Table 1: Errors that may lead to a failing transversal management:

Principles

1. Time is an admission of disobedience

2. The deadlines notified shall be negotiated: on the one hand, we demand very advanced

deadlines, on the other, we doubt that we can meet them

3. Any work received from another department is subject to careful review and a request

for refurbishment, with regret for not having been consulted before

4. Each reviews the deliverables they receive with a negative priori based on their own

values and priorities

5. We have to be late to meeting to show that we are very busy

6. The meeting exceeds the scheduled end time, which proves the intensity of the meeting

and triggers cascading delays, witness a very intense activity.

7. Meetings are often devoted to reviewing the work done by their facilitator, sometimes

the only one who has worked because others have not had time

8. Each one makes his schedule more flexible and so by rigidifying other’s schedule

9. Flooding email partners until harassment

Jacques Lemonnier, Vuibert, Paris, 2014

From these failures, we notice that communication between the manager/Leader and his partners

on the rules of the game is extremely important. The group that transforms itself into a team

thanks to the cross-cutting management can summarize the actions to be followed for each

entity. It will therefore be useful to formalize the difficulties to be overcome, the rules of the

game to be implemented, the information sought, the information proposed and the possible

enrichments and development together.

2. Role of cross-cutting management in maintaining team performance:

2.1 Team performance: terminology plurality:

Attempting to understand the team dynamics, performance and relationships between the

manager and his team, underpins a good knowledge and management of the human being.

Human resources management has undoubtedly become a strategic activity in recent years,

creating a critical competitive advantage for the company (Arcand, 2006). As a result, the

employee is no longer seen as a replaceable gear for the company, but rather as an intangible

asset that managers want to train, motivate, guide, develop and above all, achieve sustainable

performance (Dlimi, 2017)

Several researchers considered organizational performance as part of the overall performance of

the company. The latter, like any other performance, is a polysemic and complex concept, which

contributes to the difficulty of proposing a consensus definition of it and makes its measurement

a difficult task (See, 2006). It explains both the performance of an organization and the


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performance related to its internal activity. For our research, this is the second dimension that

interests us in particular, and especially the performance of the teams.

The notion of performance refers to the idea of taking action. It is clearly a matter of undertaking

and ensuring that the action is completed, without any explicit prediction as to the nature or level

of the result to be achieved. According to Annie-Bartoli, (2005), la performance est précisément

le fait d’obtenir un résultat, ce qui sous-entend bien entendu que ce résultat doit être « bon ».

Le concept de performance correspond à l’atteinte des objectifs et/ou des résultats attendus, et

plus spécifiquement à la création de valeur. According to Sirotte C, Denis JL, and Béland (1998),

in order to be successful, an organization has to perform four major functions on an ongoing

basis: achieve legitimate goals, adapt to its environment, produce with quality and maintain and

create values. Achieving goals reflects the organization’s ability to achieve its mission. This

function is achieved when the work team is performing. The team therefore has the capacity to

acquire new resource, innovate, transform and adapt to the needs of management.

Adaptation is the process of producing individual services and collective interventions. We refer

here to the quality of services, optimization of production processes (productivity). The

production also links us directly to the coordination between the team members, and the

continuity of their performance, the collaboration between each individual forming the team, and

the investment of each individual to present an optimal result.

The creation of values and standards within the team facilitates or constrains the accomplishment

of the three previous functions. These values help guide and justify the team’s strategic choices,

support development projects, as well as the various claims against any delivery (Dlimi 2016).

Fairness, freedom and efficiency remain three key values for team performance. Equity

combines the concepts of equality and solidarity by adding a normative dimension, which seeks

to ensure a fair distribution of fundamental rights among the individuals forming the team. As for

freedom, it refers to three notions: the autonomy of the action ( to be able to choose freely

without harming others); independence of action ( having the resources to make choices),

without omitting the integrity and dignity of the individual ( an integral part of the tea).

As for efficiency, it links the results with the means mobilized to achieve them. It becomes a

values when applied to make the best use of the skills of each player in the tea, to maximize

collective advantage, to account for decisions, and thus to maintain a collective performance

(Contandriopoulos AP, 2008).

In addition, SMEs are operating in an increasingly constrained environment, where human

resources and their management are viewed as levers of action on organizational performance.

Several authors and researchers try to link performance with human capital, and reflect on team

performance, but without agreeing on conceptual and operational clarifications (Pauuwe, 2004);

Richardson, 1997).

The performance of the teams is seen as a component of the company's performance (Carassus et

al.2011). In this context, we think of the overall concept of "HR Performance", which was

initiated within a stream of Anglo-Saxon literature. In fact, it consists of a set of attitudes of an

organization's staff in response to its organizational incentives (internal procedures, management

practices, HRM practices, etc.)

Previous research ( Boselie, Dietz, Boon, 2005; Sangers, Paauwe, 1996, Beer et al. 1984;)

showed in addition to maintaining positive links between them, that each of these attitudes has a


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significant and positive influence on the performance of the organization. For performance

criteria, it is useful to define what is a performance criterion? This is a quantitative instrument (

e.g a number, a ratio, an index, a percentage), giving an indication of the performance of a

specific organization, process or result ( O'Leary, 1994).

If there are different criteria that can be used in the evaluation of the performance of the players

within the team, we will only retain three, in relation to our research subject relevance,

effectiveness and efficiency. Relevance is to link the issues of the project to the objectives. It is

more about measuring how the objectives defined meet the expectations of the beneficiaries and

the identified needs. In terms of effectiveness, it measures the effectiveness of the team, and thus

it is useful to bring the result achieved to the original objective. This criterion is used to measure

whether the objective of the action have been achieved or are being achieved.

With respect to efficiency, as mentioned above, this criterion allows the team to be cost-effective

in term of resources mobilized( Fund, expertise, time, etc.).

The mere gathering of individuals is not enough for a real team. Rather, the true strength of the

team lies in the diversity of approaches that it is capable of providing. Its performance thus

depends on the balance of roles held by each of the members. Now let's move on to the discovery

of the key to maintaining team performance. We will also present the result of our investigation

in the next section.

2.2 Maintenance of performance in the Casablancan enterprise through cross-cutting

management: study result and recommendation:

Maintaining the performance of its teams is the challenge of any manager. Indeed, the loyalty of

the actors and the development of their spirit of belonging through good governance and

participatory and adaptive leadership will be the best current response to the need of Moroccan

companies in terms of the search for human performance.

In the sens of our research on the issue, we should remember what a process is a manager. The

manager using the Process approach focuses on the results to be achieved and the means to be

mobilized. This approach is rather linked to the notion of collective effectiveness and can be

considered as a cross-cutting management approach. However, for processes, they provide

results related to the objectives, derived from the strategic objectives of the organization. They

are part of the management and planning tools.

In fact, as part of the process approach, and based on our findings from the collection of

respondents data: the workflows of the teams studied in our survey focus on problem solving.

When there is an Event X, the “Business Actors” are active to succeed in “feeding” that leads to

“exploitation”. The “Business Experts” then study the context and use their “Experience” in a

collaboration with a “multidisciplinary committee” by establishing “rules” of operation.

Eventually” broadcast” takes place.

For the managers we interviewed, they use the process identification strategy as part of the cross-

cutting management. The objective is to answer the following four questions in order to achieve

a satisfactory result. On this, the questions that arise are:

-“Who” are the skills and responsibilities?

- “Dos what” to identify the sequence of activities


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- “How “to find out the procedure and instructions

And finally, "with what", and " to provide what " to characterize input and output data. The

cross–sectional approach is used here to identify risks, actions, and ways of controlling the

process.

As a result of the summary of the responses collected, the following points are inferred. Five

ingredients of success are used by the managers interviewed, we classify them as follows:

-Stakeholders involved focusing on a mostly participatory management style:

-A specific framework for each actor, which defines the missions, objectives, tasks and

responsibilities of each, with clear rules of operation.

-A large team that meets the needs, with skills and personalities able to working in cross-border

management.

-A team spirit that allows the team to be coherent through joint actions.

-Maintenance of relationship with peers, supervisors, the various services of the company and

external interlocutors.

On the other hand, the observation that emerges from our study is that the responsibilities are

more distributed, so the organization becomes less vertical and transversal.

The performance of a company is linked to the quality of its cross-cutting management, which

must respond to a paradox, that of providing more framing but also more flexibility in the

teamwork environment.

On the other hand, the observation that emerges from our study that the responsibilities are more

distributed, so the organization becomes less vertical and transversal. The performance of a

company is linked to the quality of its cross-cutting management, which must respond to a

paradox, that of providing more framing but also more flexibility in the work environment.

The performance of the Casablancan company is entirely possible thanks to a cross-cutting

manager who relies on a tripartite relationship, since the dominant relational mode will be as

follows: N+1 actor, Actor and Transversal Manager. It will probably play multiples roles, and its

action will be to pool, consolidate and capitalize on a time (frame related to the policy being

implemented. The cross–cutting Manager will thus be able to maintain the performance of his

teams by following indicators on the implementation of methods, standards and results while

operating through influence and cooperation.

The following table clarifies the difference between the position of hierarchical manager”,

“project manager”, “network driver”, and “cross-cutting manager”. Their common point is

“make it happen”! They manage to get the workers to do their jobs, but several differences

remain to be noted in their actions and strategy:


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Table 2: Differentiate cross-management from other types of management:

Position Dominant

Relational mode

Principle

of Actions

Time

Horizon

Measure

Control

Functioing

determined by

Dual

Relationship

Outline Manager:

to Manager

/Collaborate

Lead

Evaluate

Change

Persistent

Character

individuel

performance

Employee

Autonomy

Project

Leader

Tripartite Relationship: N+1 Team/

Team/Preoject

Leader

Delegate/ Enroll/

federate

Project duration

Result project Interdependancy

Network

driver

Tripartite

relationship: N+1

member/ Member/

network driver

Make sens/

Pilot/

Develop

Network

goals

Indicators of

contribution to

strategy

Interaction/

Matching

resources

Cross-cutting

Manager

Tripartite

relationship: N+1

actor/ Actor/Cross-cutting Manager

Mutualize

Consolidate

Capitaliz

Time

related to

the policy implemente

d

Indicators on

implementatio

n of methods

Influence/Cooper

ation

Jean-Pierre TESTA, Bertand DEROULEDE, La boite à outil du management transversal,

DUNOD, 2017

If the results of our investigation are to be summarized in more detail and recommendations to be

made, it is useful to clarify the following points: It should be noted that the evolution in the

enterprise can be achieved if there is need for federation and membership of resources, without

hierarchical link, when there is real need for membership. In this sense, and in contrast to the

manager/ collaborator relationship, cross-management is a way of seeing organizations

horizontally, focusing on the ability to collaborate and work together.

Although this may seem simple, as it is part of a “ work together” logic, certain skills and

qualities are essential to be better manage a team and to maintain its performance outside of any

guideline ( such as leadership that remains essential to motivate and involve employees).

In our survey, the phrase that most often redundant from the respondents to our interviews is:" I

don't have to do action X, because the person who asked me is not my boss!". This refusal to

collaborate is a feeling felt by respondents when they receive requests from other departments or

entities of the company. Of the 100 respondents, 79 indicated that they only responded to

requests from their "n1" or direct supervisor. This is also to say that some employees can be

horizontal management brakes, as they have become accustomed to receiving orders, not

requests.

Also, of the 100 respondents, the teams surveyed in our survey, which consisted mainly of men,

expressed a categorical refusal to perform the tasks if the request was horizontal. They stressed

“we only follow the workbook and the weekly missions highlighted in the meeting of the

briefing on Monday”.

In addition, they said“ we are not supposed to respond to the inquiries of other stakeholders”.

The only person who was important to them was “the boss”(as they named him- when I asked:


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why? One of the respondent replied, “When there are several tigers, it is better to wait for orders

from one lion to avoid war, because each of us has his ego”. We asked them what they expected

to do to make the performance better and, above all, to maintain it. The answers we have had are

s follows: More confidence/Employee’s commitment to decision making/more involvement/

more communication/ Positive influence with arguments.

We notice that male teams involved more sensitivity than logic, which could certainly be brake

on the new type of management, namely cross-management. They are only men on the same

team and may have felt unaware of the competitors in hyper-competitive competition with each

other before even talking about order or pressure from outside.

By contrast, the women’s teams that answered our questions were much more open to dialog

between departments and showed much more flexibility. They unanimously stressed that

“working or collaborating in horizontal management is very beneficial for moving forward”.

However, in their response they did not attempt to come forward or contradict one of the key

point raised in the questions, and competitiveness or energy or motivation were almost absent. In

response to this observation that I shared with them, they replied that "you know, over time, we

know each other very well, whether the directives come from the top or from the horizontal: it

doesn't matter". Another respondent replied: "who of us still has the desire or the energy to

oppose or manifest? We're here for the salary, so doing the job. But for the motivation: it is a

dream. We conclude that women's teams lacked an element that could instill positive waves and

encourage them in a cross-cutting management. In this case of a typical figure, it becomes a

necessity. We did not want to focus groups with teams that were made up of only men or

women, because the original aim was not to check the problem from a gender perspective. We

asked HR to disseminate information: that the interviews begin at 9:00 am, and that each team

will be made up of 10 people. 10 interviews would give 100 respondents. For precision, the

duration of each exchange was one and a half hours.

Our surprise was then that 7 teams were either male or female. Only 3 teams were composed of

men and women. In fact, the 3 diverse teams that had different types of employees- mixed teams-

were much more relaxed, stress-free, serene and smiled as soon as they entered the meeting

room. The smile and laughter were their allies throughout the interview. Their responses were

unanimous for a cross-cutting management.

Indeed, these three teams stated:

-“Transverse management allows much more productivity”.

-“We are all for a common mission, so if it is led by a collaborative leader: it’s the top”

-“The leader becomes a leader, and the leader becomes a collaborator, who then becomes a

friend, and nothing can be denied because he gains our respect and trust ant not out fear”

We note that men’s teams were more in the process of closing down and refusing to collaborate

horizontally, lest they unconsciously hit their ego and sensitivity, they expected more

motivational confidence in the context of cross-cutting management. However, the women’s

teams were more part of the “yes, no problem” culture. Mixed teams cultivated more horizontal

openness and promoted cross-cutting management. In the end, we see the importance of finding

“the right person” or “the right driver” in the transversal management framework that will be

able to manage for maintain the performance of the teams. As the teams are so diverse, the better


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it will be for group productivity as each team member will have a role to play in creating a

perfect balance.

Our study shows that it is necessary to identify the elements that can have a positive influence on

the employees ‘own objectives and to motivate them to achieve them by encouraging

cooperation. The intelligent and skillful leader will be able to lead everyone into a common

mission. If the leader or manager can show everyone the mission’s interest in success, and it’s

not left to see that interest, then the employees may be involved in the collective.

We find a perfect symbiosis between the elements studied in the literature review and the results

of our empirical part. We have repeatedly identified the need for communication and sharing on

the progress of results from the responses collected. Indeed, these points are undoubtedly

important for the realization of a real cross-cutting management. On the other hand, through our

empirical study, we have discovered that the Moroccan company, and more specifically”

Casablancaise SME’s”, is now moving towards technological innovation, taking into account

competition and the challenges of globalization. She is aware of changes related to customer

expectations, the ICT revolution and the sociological evolution typical of Moroccan society.

Indeed, the employees in the companies are assertive, more autonomous and more free-ranging.

The 100 people we interviewed have between Baccalauréate+2 or

For most of the respondents in the position of manager, they told us that they have several

internal concerns. They represent 50°/° of respondents and occupy one of the following

positions: Operational managers, functional managers, or internal or external experts. There

barriers were grouped in the following table to further clarify the obstacle and its effect:

Table 3:The obstacles faced by managers and their effects on their internal management

Obstacle Effect

Misunderstandings That lead to many errors

Interpretations That lead to dysfunction

Disagreements between departments,

between officials, or between project groups

That often leads to duplication of work, loss

of efficiency, delays, and conflicts

Source: ourselves

The methodology applied:

We have chosen the epistemological posture “interpretativism”, and the research approach

‘hypothetical deductive”. The questionnaire and semi-directional interviews will be the preferred

materials allowing a real analysis of the concrete.

We consider it useful to support and follow the Churchill methodology ( 1979), which proposes

an approach to construction rigorously measuring instruments such as multiple-scale

questionnaire( and thus, to identify variables useful for understanding the subject of study, to

retain for each variable the measure generally accepted in the literature, to develop a draft

questionnaire, to submit it to an expert panel on SMEs and performance, to collect date, estimate

the reliability and validity of the questionnaire, calculation of scores for each scale of the

questionnaire).

Fiel of study: Moroccan SME –in Casablanca city-:


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Why did this land attract our attention? Simply because the SME represent 95°/° of the

Moroccan economic fabric and the Casablancan company is an economic center. It is present in

all sectors of economic activity: agriculture, industry, handicrafts, the BTP, businesses and

finally services that include tourism, transport and financial services.

We aim to follow the approach most commonly used in management sciences (Hlady-Rispal,

2000): this is the deductive model, which, in our humble opinion, is a royal way of the so-called

‘hard” sciences. To this end, and as Wacheux (1996) argues, the deductive method process

begins with theoretical analyzes, translated into testable proposals, and then verifies them on the

ground, from a representative sample.

The conceptual model that we were able to draw from our study is as follows:

Figure 2: The Conceptual model of our research

Source: ourselves

For the central hypothesis on which we have focused, it consists in considering “ cross-

management” as an explanatory factor for the performance of the teams, and thus for the

sustainable maintenance of their performance and profitability. We have identified four

hypotheses as follows:

-Assumption 1: the cross-cutting management is reflected in good leadership that will maintain a

sustainable performance of the teams.

-Assumption 2: cross-cutting management is a tool for improving the competitiveness of SMEs,

through good governance, and a solution for managers to make decisions about the performance

of their teams.

-Assumption 3: The constant motivation of the teams within the framework of a cross-cutting

management allows the maintenance of the performance, despite the increased competitiveness

of the Casablancan SME.

Cross-cutting

management

Leadership

Motivation

Governance

Creating a spirit of belonging and

loyalty

Performance of

the team

H1

H4

H2

H3


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-Assumption 4: The creation of a spirit of belonging and loyalty in the context of a cross-cutting

management within the SME influences the performance of the teams, and thus promotes and

maintains their performance.

For the performance indicators for the teams that have raised our interest and on which we

worked, we grouped them in the following table:

Table 4: Performance indicators

Type of

performance

Indicators used in the

literature

Authors

Personal

performance

Social recognition

Personal heritage

Quality of life

Independence and autonomy

Gray (2002)

Greenbank (2001)

LeCornu & al. (1996)

Reijonen & Komppula ( 2007)

Walker & Brown (2004)

Sustainable

team

performance

Efficiency/Efficiency

Profitability/Productivity

Job Maintenance

Investment in Society

Quality of life for employees

Reputation

Getz ( 2005)

Peterson (2005)

Greenbank (2001)

Gundry & weksch (2001)

Morris & al. (2006)

Szekely & Knorsh (2005)

Source: ourselves

Effects of HTM on orgnizational performance in Moroccan enterprises :

Through the result of our empirical study, we conclude that the path of competitiveness of

Moroccan companies is taking the path of performance research. This performance, supported by

the efforts of HRM, remains the permanent deal of managers.

Indeed, we conclude that HRM has real effects on performance. Cross-cutting management in

this sens promotes the creativity of employees, and forces them to be always looking for what

can distinguish them from their competitors.

Challenges of transformational management on the management practices of organizations

in Morocco during and after the COVID-19 pandemic.

As part of our field study, we have targeted different sectors of activity, and companies of

different sizes to get a global idea of the strategies deployed by managers and managers to save

themselves from the effects of the crisis. We have addressed mainly team managers, managers,

and project managers.

Digitalization:

Some Moroccan companies went bankrupt during confinement. Unfortunately, those who have

been able to keep themselves alive no longer have the right to hide incompetence or lack of


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expertise or even the non-productivity of an employee. Companies that have survived the

pandemic and containment crisis have told us in our semi-directional interviews that digital

technology has been one of the innovative ways in which transformational management has

taken place.

Indeed, home delivery was a revolution in all sectors in Morocco. The confined client was

entitled to new services that were created in record time to deal with crisis. Creation and

development of company website for a better visibility, and customer contact, online advertising,

home services. The customer felt like king because, as M/L/K says” we thought about

approaching our products to the customer even he is confined to his home”. The same strategy

was carried out by the textile company led by M.L.K, who told us “we don’t wait for the

customer anymore, we go home, and all the means are good to push him to buy”.

A well-equipped HRM leads to a sustained performance especially when setting up a cross-

cutting management.

The conversion:

Seizing opportunities, or rather taking advantage of the crisis to convert, was the strategy of

80°/° of our respondents. Indeed, they have chosen to keep their activity but, also specialize in

products with a tendency to high consumption “ Covid masks”, “COVID Gels”, “Cleaning

products” etc… in connection with the pandemic.

Creativity:

In the same direction of transforming crisis into opportunity, we noticed that several Textile

companies launched the momentum of their creativity and began to make high-seam creation

accompanied by Covid mask ( fabric with precious stone, colors depending on the outfit, unique

piece…) to allow customers to remain chic and trendy despite the circumstances. The fear of the

pandemic is gradually turning into a booster of creation, motivation and a lot of marketing. The

teams then perform well, and the company maintains its performance in the same direction.

Communication:

Communication has played a major role in maintaining relations in Moroccan companies.

Internally, bringing managers closer to their employees, to get through the crisis “together”, was

an intelligent behavior of many Moroccan managers. Our respondents in our qualitative survey

told us that ongoing, daily communication about each decision-making process has reduced

stress during the period of telecommuting and confinement.

Employees felt supported, understood and listened to, which further enhanced their performance

and cultivated their sens of belonging to defend the interests of the company and enable it to face

the crisis. Externally, communication with customers (via social networks and adversting ) has

helped maintain sales. Better yet, for some products, sales have climbed.

Retention of key elements or strong links:

It is no longer to dispute that the companies, which were able to maintain themselves despite the

confinement dating from 2020 to July 2020, were based on competence and xcellence only a few


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elements that the leaders in the interviews called “link strengths”, or “key elements”. We deduce

from our discussions with managers, directors and managers that the new system put in place

will be focused on motivating the “elite”.

The latter will be a kind of adrenaline rush for all employees. These key elements will benefit

from training, to stay up to date, and will receive motivating salaries to double their efforts and

lead the teams and the company towards performance. In fact, local management and listening to

employees are no longer a luxury, but are becoming an emergency, and what we noted in the

background in most of the responses collected from our survey.

Employee training:

Several companies suddenly went out of business because their employees were not ready to face

the crisis. The major problem was the lack of skills and the lack of training in new technologies.

Indeed, they were not equipped at the technological level, at the technical level, at the HRM

level with the latest innovations to be up to date.

Thus, the new philosophy that now reigns in Morocco, especially since last March, the date of

the first confinement is: training. All of the companies interviewed for our survey raised this

point as a failure in 2020 and a success factor for the new year 2021. K.L general manager of an

industrial factory in Casablanca told us:" training is the weapon of tomorrow, if I have trained

and up-to-date employees, I will have no fear about the future".

A new risk management architecture:

"When he risk is well managed, we think in a forecasting management system of solutions, then

the HR system and the top management do not allow the risk to turn into a crisis", such was the

response of manager JK during our interviews. This is an interesting proposition since forward

planning of jobs and skills is no longer the only field of action, but risk management becomes a

necessity.

Security measures, curfews, the closure of snack bars, restaurants, sports halls, etc.., so many

restrictive measures for the protection of citizens have led to an upheaval in HR practices. In this

sense, transversal management makes it possible to prevent risks and prepare a new architecture

to better understand them.

Conclusion:

In the context of transversal management, the leader becomes balanced in an exciting game of

collaborator instead of absolute leader. He will need some skills that give him the ability to be

and tactically and strategically. He uses his influence to be able to unify the collaborators

towards a common goal. Indeed, this ability to influence becomes the daily motor that allows it

to drive any activity because it can simply convince and generate the support of others.

With this strategy, the manager who practices cross-cutting management sharing data on the

progress of results with employees will be able to boost exchanges and mobilize resources to

become more involved in the adventure. The role of cross-cutting management is necessary to

maintain team performance.


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